Carpet-cleaning machine



May 20 C. FOLDESSY CARPET CLEANING MACHINE Filed March 18. 1920 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 if /n May 20 192 C. FOLDESSY CARPET CLEANING MACHINE 1920 I5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 18 LE 60/. ,M/wv Fan -say I C. FOLDESSY CARPET CLEANING MACHINE May 20, 1924- Filed March 18. 1920 3 Sheets-$heet 5 COLEMAN 'FOLDESSY, OF CHICAGO. ILLINOIS.

CARPET-CLEANING MACHINE.

Application filed March 18, 1920. Serial No. 366,731.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, COLEMAN FOLDESSY, a citizen of the United States, and a resi dent of the city of Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois have invented certain new and useful Improvements in a Carpet-Cleaning Machine; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full. clear, and exact description of the same, reference being bad to the accompanying drawings, and to the numerals of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to machines adapted to scrub and clean carpets, rugs and articles of a similar cha acter passed therethrough.

Heretofore in machines of this kind cylindrical brushes have .beenemployed which by their nature are adapted to contact with the carpet over a relatively small area. Further. where means have been provided for applying a cleaning fluid to the carpet, such means have not been adapted for use with carpets or rugs of difl'erent Widths. The present invention is designed to overcome these and other objections.

It is an object, therefore, of the present invention to provide improved means for scrubbing a car )et with flat brushes.

A further ObJQCt'lS to provide means for controlling the supply of cleaning fluid in accordance with the width of the carpet or rug treated and thereby avoiding waste of such fluid.

Other and further important objects of this invention will be apparent from the disclosures in the specification and drawings.

The inventi o'n (a e preferred form) is illustrated inthe drawings and hereinafter more fully (described.

On the drawings:

Figure 1 is a plan view of a machine embodying the present improvements.

Figure 2 is a side view of the same.

Figure 3 is a section on the line 3-3 of Fi ure 1.

Figure 4 is a section on the line 4-4 of Figure 2.

Figure 5 1s a section on the line .5 Figure 4.

Figure 6 is a plan view of a modified form of construction.

Figure 7 is a section on Figure 6.

the line 74 of crank 16.

other by a series of slats 6, to form a conveyor. These slats are arranged sutiicicntly close to each other so that if the edge of a carpet is thrust between the gaping edges of two adjacent slats as the latter are pass ing around one pair of sprockets; when the slats move' together as the chains] 5 straighten out on leaving the sprockets the edge of the carpet will be gripped tirmly between the edges of the slats as indicated in Figure 3. Along its upper lap the conveyor is supported by a. pair of guides 7, along which run rollers 8 on the pintles of the chains 5: on its lower lap the slats 6 rest on the platform 9. v i s As the carpet. isdrawn by the conveyor into the machine it first contacts with and operates the cleaning fluid applying mechanism. This mechanism comprises a pipe 10 connected to a suitable source of fluid, such as soap solution. Leading downwardly from the pipe'l O are a series of short pipes 11, each provided with a valve .12 and carrying at its lower end a short length of pipe 13 closed at each end but'provided with a series of perforations through which the. feaning fluid may be sprayed onto the carpet. V i

The valves 12 are provided with springs (not shown) for normally holding them closed. Adjacent eachvalve is a vertically Ma i slidable rod l tprovided with a shoe 15 at its lower end forengagement withthe carpet and connected at its upper end to a bell- As the carpet, in passing under the shoes 15, raises the rods 14 the bellcranks are operated and the upper ends of the latter forced against the valve stems to cause the valve to open. By providing series of shoes each controlling the discharge of cleaning fluid to-the adjacent section. of

the machine the width of the carpet deter mines the number of shoes engaged and thereby restricts the flow of cleaning fluid to a width of the machine substantially corresponding to the width of the carpet.

After leaving the fluid applying mechanism the conveyor draws the *arpet beneath a series of fiat rotary brushes 17 arranged in staggered relation as shown in Figure '1.

' against the carpet.

may be For driving these brushes horizontal shafts 18 and 19 rre provided connected for simultaneous rotation by sprockets 20 and a chain 21. On these shafts are mounted bevel. gears 22 adapted to mesh with bevel gears 23 secured to the brushes 17. The brushes 17 are prevented from tilting laterally by frames '24 provided with rollers 25 on their underside which engage the upper side of the brushes 17. as shown in Figure 3. So that the brushes 17 may exert the desired yielding pressure on the carpet the bearings 26 for the shafts 18 and 19, which drive these brushes, are arranged to slide between brackets 27 so that the weight of the brushes and their driving mechanism holds them After leaving the brushes 17 the carpet passes under a spraying pipe 28 for washwater to remove the dirt, excess soap and the like from the carpet. The carpet is then brought under a flexible metallic scraper 29, whichexpresses the greater part of the moisture in the carpet and causes it to run over the lateral edges of the carpet into the drip pan 30 therebeneath. Next the carpet is engaged by a cylindrical brush 31 driven by a shaft 33 in the opposite direction to the movement of carpet through the machine. This brush removes loose particles of dirt not carried off by the washing process and further breaks up the matted surface produced by first. wetting the carpet and then passing it under the metallic scraper 29. After leaving the brush 31 the carpet passes under a roller 32 preferably of yielding material such as rubber for the purpose of holding the carpet in engagen'ient with the conveyor after the end of the carpet has been released by the spreading action of the sprocket 4 on the conveyor slats as the latter pass therearound.

As shown, the shafts 2, 18,19 and 33 are connected for simultaneous rotation at substantially the same speeds by means of chains 34. 21 and 35. In some cases it may be. desirable, however, to drive the conveyor shaft 2 at a lower speed than the shafts 18 and 19, and for that purpose a worni'drive provided between the shafts 18 and 2. Further itmay be found advantageous in certain cases to drive the cylindrical brush 31 at. a considerably higher rate of speed than the brushes 17, 'nce the function of the former IS in part to dry the carpet while the latter are designed for a slow scrubbing action.

In the construction shown in Figures 6' and 7 a different type of scrubbing brush is shown. In this case instead of a true circular movement an oscillatory movement is produced similar to that used when scrubbing by hand. The brushes 36 and 37 in this case extend across the machine and are operated by means of rods 38 and 39. One end of each rod is attached eccentrically to adisc 40, while the other end slides to and fro in a rotatable bearing block or guide 41. One of these discs 40 is driven by bevel gear-s47. 48 and shaft 49' from a shaft 42 while the other discis operated by gears 50,

51 and shaft 52 tln'ough a shaft 44 driven from the shaft 4:2 by a chain 45. The shaft- 44 in turn drives the shaft 33, which carries the brush 31, by a chain 46. The brushes are yieldingly held against the carpet by means of springs 53 and 54, which engage opposite ends of the rods'38 and 39, as shown in Figure 7.

illll aware that numerous details of construction may be varied through a Wide range without departing from the principles of this invention, and I therefore do not purpose limiting the patent granted otherwise than necessitated by the prior art.

I claim as my invention:

1. A carpet cleaning machine comprising abrush and a conveyor adapted to move acarpet across the brush, said conveyor including a series of transverse slats set sufficiently close to enable an edge of the carpet to be gripped between an adjacent pair of slats whilst the latter are moving along a straight portion of the path of the conveyor.

2. A carpetcleaning machine comprising a rotary brush, a conveyor arranged to move across the brush, perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the brush and means for securing one edge of the carpet to the conveyor below the outer surface of the latter.

3. A carpet cleaning machine comprising a plurality of rotary brushes arranged in staggered relation. and means for moving a carpet across the brushes in a direction perpendicular to the axes of rotation of the brushes.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto subscribed my name in the presence of two EARL M. HARDIHE, CARLTON HILL. 

